Letter from Itachi
by Miranda804
Summary: After Itachi's death, Sasuke goes looking for answers. Short work from a first time fanfic author. No romance at all; just a look into the complicated motives of Itachi Uchiha.


**Disclaimer:** Okay well, so you know I don't own any of these characters. I'm not trying to make money off this story. It's just fan-fiction. Any mistakes in content are my own fault; I never claimed to be the world's foremost expert on all things Naruto. However, I tried very hard to be accurate where it mattered and I enjoyed writing these characters. This is my first EVER fan-fic, so if you enjoyed it at all I would really appreciate comments/feedback.

This story is set shortly after the events of Chapter 393: The Death of Itachi.

_Could Madara be telling the truth?_ Sasuke Uchiha's head was filled with brutal images, more vivid than those he had experienced under the effect of Tsukuyomi. He had somewhat succeeded in his life-long goal. Itachi was dead, though not by Sasuke's hand. Still, Sasuke took some righteous pleasure in his brother's death...if not for their fight perhaps Itachi would have clung to life a few days more. And yet....doubt. Had Itachi deserved to die as Sasuke had so long believed? Or was Sasuke simply a puppet in Itachi's suicide. Had the Uchiha been a noble clan or villains out to overthrow Konoha? Only Itachi knew the truth....and Itachi wasn't here to tell.

Or was he?

Brothers....connected by blood and past experience. By love and by hatred. And a single memory kept repeating in Sasuke's head.

"At the main temple of the Nakano Shrine, underneath the seventh tatami mat on the far right side... is the clan's secret meeting place."

And so Sasuke made the journey, returning to the Ghost Town that was the setting for so many of his nightmares. The streets no longer reeked of decay but there was a quiet that bespoke the depth of death that had permeated this place. It was no longer home. Silent as the shadows, Sasuke entered the temple, the tatami mats were rotting and the smell was sweet and sickening. He kicked away the remnants of the seventh mat and found an engraving on the stone floor underneath; a Sharingan eye...but the three tomoe were not aligned correctly. Sasuke touched his fingers to the first tomoe and found it slid easily. He moved the tomoe, one by one, into place and the eye glowed red....the ground split and revealed stairs.

Taking a deep breath, but showing no other signs of unease he descended into the darkness.

Down here the air was stale, like a crypt, holding the secrets of the past. The floor was thick with dust and there were no tell-tale footprints betraying the last visitor...but that would be no difficult matter for a Ninja as skilled as Itachi. With a simple jutsu he lit the torches to light his path. Without hesitation, Sasuke walked the length of the sanctum until he reached the dais...on which the leaders of the clan would once have sat. He imagined his Father, cold and stern, sitting in the chair reserved for the leader of Konoha's police force...the chair inscribed with the Uchiha seal bordered by a star. Sasuke moved to the chair quickly and turned it over in one sudden movement. On the bottom was affixed a scroll....thick as though it contained the secrets of an entire life...and untouched by the dust and age that had corroded the rest of this place. Sasuke removed it and held it, his body shaking with a sudden fear. _What if Madara was right?_ Did he really want to know?

Yes. He owed Itachi that much. He righted his Father's chair and slumped into it, not minding the fine layer of dust that was now settling on his tunic. He unrolled the scroll and began to read:

For so much of your life I have seemed like an impenetrable mystery. I hope it does not shatter your illusions to know that so close to the end of my life the question that perplexed me most was one of etiquette. How best to begin this letter? What salutation do you use when writing your last testament to the man you know will one day murder you?

Honored opponent? Glorious victor? Dear little brother?

Sasuke.....

I congratulate you on your success. Please know it is not a fluke. I want to die, I want you to kill me....but, my ego is such I could never simply allowed you an easy victory. If you have killed me, you killed me because in that moment your skills surpassed my own. I only hope that death was slow. I deserve to suffer. But also, there are a few things I need to do in those dying moments. I need to finish what I started....and I need to tell you enough so that your curiosity will compel you to read this scroll. Please read it. I know I have no right to ask you for anything but I hope you will remember the brother I once was. The brother I was able to be for such a short period of time.... Remember what I told you? I will always be there for you Sasuke if only as an obstacle for you to overcome. You've overcome the obstacle of Itachi. Now it is time for my last gift. The gift of truth. I am not sure if I tell it to you out of altruism or selfishness. I am not sure if this is a gift for myself or for my little brother. But the truth can only make you stronger. Lies can only be exploited as weakness by your enemies.

The truth was, you needed to hate me to defeat me. And I needed your hatred as my penance for my sins. But now that I am dead....there is no purpose to your hatred. It would burn like the black flames of the Amaterasu consuming your soul forever until there was nothing left. That is not what I want for you.

The glorious legend of Itachi Uchiha is a lie. Sasuke Uchiha is the true prodigy. I was always so proud of you. Everything came so easily for me. I never knew why. I was simply a freak, capable of mastering every skill without effort. You, little brother, you had to work twice as hard to come half as far....most people would have quit. But your spirit was such that you never gave up. You mastered every skill, conquered every obstacle. By sweat and blood and furious effort you equaled my power. I envied you the way that others envied me. Just once I wanted something to be as difficult for me as any single jutsu seemed to be for you. I wanted the chance to prove I could preserver and overcome.

Be careful what you wish for, right?

I became aware that the Uchiha clan intended to overthrow the Hokage and exterminate every person in Konoha who had reached the level of Chunin. The plan was merciless. It was also idiotic.

As powerful and proud as our Clan had been, such a victory could not have come without great losses. Even if the Uchiha were able to overthrow the Hokage, even if they were able to slay every opponent....do you see the flaw? The Land of Flame would be left the Land of Ash and when the other Villages learned what we had done....it would have been a countdown to total destruction. Our weakened Clan would not have been able to fend off attackers from the outside. So much needless death. I could not bear to live through it. I would not sit by and watch you die for their foolishness.

I told Shisui everything. I had always respected him for his prowess and intelligence. He knew the secret of the Mangekyo Sharingan and the power one could wield upon obtaining it. I offered myself as the sacrifice...but he knew what had happened to those who had tried to wield the Mangekyo in the past. Only one person in our history had held it successfully and he was the most powerful of our line. If this plan was to have a chance....I would have to murder my best friend. He wrote the note....said his good-byes...and he chose the manner of his death. Shi....Sui....Death Water. He always did have an idiotic sense of humor.

I thought....stupidly....simply having the power would be enough. You witnessed my warning. Stop this foolish talk of the Clan. You overestimate your own abilities without understanding the depth of my own. I cracked the uchiwa seal on the wall and I thought....they will give up their foolish dreams of power. They will know I can destroy them. They did not heed my warning. They would not bargain with the Hokage. And so, I was ordered to destroy them all.

I cannot say what would have been if I had taken a different route walking home after the Hokage gave his terrible order. Perhaps I would have told Father everything. Perhaps they would have murdered me. I might not have had the power to follow through. But....I took the path I took....that is my only defense in any of this. And I met him. On the road to my destiny stood the only other person to possess the Mangekyo Sharingan, Madara Uchiha....the founder of our Clan. He had come to destroy both Konoha and our Clan, he may have succeeded in his quest....I do not know. But I was able to persuade him to spare the Village....I promised him I would make the Uchiha pay. As symbol of my commitment....he picked the first target.

Sasuke Uchiha.

As your name fell from lips I could not see, echoing from some place behind his swirling mask....I felt my heart age a hundred years. I would never have killed you. Your instructors at the Academy had been informed to hold you after. The Ninjas who arrived and asked for a demonstration of your skill were my trusted colleagues in ANBU. Your safety for my sacrifice....that was the agreement. Sasuke Uchiha would live and defeat the nightmare of Itachi. The Hokage agreed because he feared. I wish I knew another way...but terror seems to be my only weapon.

I had always been hailed as a Ninja prodigy, my natural intelligence supposedly vast. But in that moment, facing Madara I felt stupid and slow. The wheels of my mind have never spun so fast. And I spoke the lie to which I have desperately clung these past nine years:

_I cannot kill my little brother, Madara. I cannot do it because of his potential. Like me, he has the potential to wield the Mangekyo Sharingan and I have read in the secret scrolls that the only way to seal my power is to steal the eyes of another Uchiha with this same power. I will kill Sasuke but not until he has reached his full potential. He is too weak now. Killing him does not interest me._

I am sorry for the pain this lie caused you. I am sorry for the frequency of times I was forced to repeat it. But it was this lie alone that spared your life. And still....I think sometimes Madara knew. Or at least suspected. Perhaps he let you live because he suspected he could use you against me in the future. Or perhaps he did it for love of his own little brother....a tragic figure in the Uchiha history. But I could never have killed you Sasuke. So another symbol had to be chosen and when Madara spoke her name I could not refuse.

Her name has been forgotten by everyone but me. She was a Chunin of modest abilities by the Uchiha standards. Our fourth cousin, twice removed....she wasn't expected to do anything great. She had become a medical ninja, and was trusted to tend to the secret wounds of the ANBU. When she looked at my face she had no fear and I came to dream...

Dreams are a weakness I could not afford. I killed her quickly, before she could see the horrors I would unleash upon our clan. Not the noble death I gifted our warrior parents. Not the moment of certain doom I unleashed upon honored Aunt and Uncle. A quiet death, I kissed her forehead and snapped her neck. Such Angels are not meant to stay in this land of Hell.

With her died the last of my reservations. Everyone was doomed, and Madara assisted. But it made no difference if they died screaming at his hands or quietly at my own. Every death was felt as my burden. When the Clan quarters were quiet.....I sent Madara away and I waited....for you.

You needed to hate me. Me; the person, Itachi the demon...the villain had to be real. If you only heard tales of my barbarism, you might have allowed a young brother's affection to blur reality. You might have made excuses for me...which would have alienated you from Konoha. You might have come looking for me which would have put you in danger. You had to hate me deeply, truthfully, without question. And there was only one way to make that happen.

Tsukuyomi....

For 48 hours I made you watch, made you live the nightmare of what I had done. But it was never about torturing you. My intended victim was myself. What I did....I had to relive every day for the rest of my life, I had to crystallize the memory in my mind. I had to watch them die and see you grow to hate me. My resolve could not sway. Everything depended on you.

How I twisted your young mind....how I crushed your spirit.... I cannot apologize. I may wish I could have done something differently, but there was no other choice. You had to be hollowed out, emptied of weakness. You had to be ready. Madara and I deserve to die. The village must be made safe, kept safe. This is the duty of the Uchiha Clan.

I never wanted to tell you any of this. I wanted to keep the legend of our great Clan alive and well inside your mind. I wanted to make you the hero like the Shinobi in the old stories. Sasuke Uchiha, the one who avenged his Clan and destroyed his evil brother. But if you're here, then Madara has already told you some of what transpired....and I could not leave you to twist on the wind of his lies. He deserves to die Sasuke. But I could not discover how to kill him. That must be your work.

You are strong Sasuke, stronger than I could ever be. As I write this, I am already dying, decaying on the inside being destroyed by forces stronger than any jutsu. Please kill me soon, little brother. Let me die at your feet. Let yours be the last face I see before the blindness claims me forever.

The Uchiha legacy is hatred and destruction. Let that end with the death of Madara. I can offer no other assistance than this....in all his years there is only one name Madara ever feared.

Senju...

Their bloodline was not kept like ours. They are scattered like leaves on the wind. But the secret may not lie in finding a pure Senju. The secret may lie in unlocking their...

Oh no, little brother. It won't be that easy. I promised I would never leave you. I will always be with you as an obstacle to be overcome. So I leave you with this last puzzle to solve. One last barrier to climb.

All I ever did was to protect you. Please remember me without pain.

Itachi Uchiha

**

Trembling hands worked to roll the scroll and slide it back into its original casing. Sasuke Uchiha, the rogue Ninja, the boy who had claimed to be dead inside lowered his forehead to his knees and wept. Even in this he had failed Itachi. He had not been strong enough to defeat his brother....Itachi had ended Orochimaru. And then....

Sasuke tilted his head back and rubbed the spot on his forehead....

_Sorry Sasuke. There won't be a next time._

"Itachi...." Sasuke whispered into the void, feeling as lost and alone as he had that night nine years ago. For today, Sasuke lost what was left of his family.

Getting to his feet, he slung Itachi's scroll over his back. For once, he would refuse to play his brother's game. Not Sasuke...but Itachi Uchiha....that is the name the world would remember. Itachi the hero. Sasuke would do anything to make it happen. He walked towards the stairs, and then standing in the darkness clamped his hands together in the familiar shapes....

Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger...

Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.

The ball of flame enveloped the council chambers.....Sasuke turned and fled as the flames consumed the wreckage of his former life....burning it to the ground.

Half an hour later, Sasuke immerged from the front gate, behind him the former dwelling of the Uchiha Clan was an orange glow. The ghost town would be no more. His slender body was a dark blot, a silhouette against the crackling inferno. It illuminated the landscape for miles in all directions, casting sharp shadows under the forest trees. In the distance he could hear the alarms of Konoha. Sasuke didn't care if the Village burned as well...but harming them would be collateral damage. They meant nothing. Only Madara mattered.

And then he saw....a blur so orange, he could almost believe it to be an offshoot of the fire.

"Naruto...." Sasuke said the name with that old familiar distaste, the lazy apathy, the easy sneer coming to his normally impassive face.

"Believe it!"


End file.
